BAE Secures Contract for Upkeep of DDG Preble
The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) granted BAE Systems a $104 million contract on August 13 for scheduled depot maintenance for the USS Preble (DDG-88).
This agreement focuses on preserving, upgrading, and servicing the Arleigh Burke-class destroyer. The contract announcement emphasized that under this award, the vessel “will undergo thorough modernization for DDG-51 class ships to ensure operational longevity.”
Operations will take place at BAE’s San Diego Ship Repair facility, with completion expected by February 2022. The contract also includes options that, if exercised, could elevate the total value to $118 million.
The Defense Department characterized this undertaking as a “long-term” availability solicited across the West Coast without confining the performance location to the ship’s homeport.
Last year, NAVSEA published a sources sought notice conducting market research to ascertain industry capability and interest in undertaking the depot modernization period for the Preble and the destroyer USS Mustin (DDG-89) on the West Coast. At that time, the Navy indicated that the work would occur from September 2022 to February 2023 for the Preble (Defense Daily, August 2, 2019).
In a separate statement, Vice Adm. Ron Boxall, then-director of Navy Surface Warfare, indicated that the service intended to install a Lockheed Martin [LMT] 60-150 kW High Energy Laser and Integrated Optical-dazzler with Surveillance (HELIOS) system on a West Coast destroyer in 2021 “to target incoming vessels” (Defense Daily, March 20, 2019).
HELIOS will emit a single laser beam to engage unmanned aircraft systems and small boats. It is projected to be integrated onto the ship for its entire service life and will be securely mounted on the ship while also being linked with the destroyer’s Aegis combat system.
In 2019, the Navy announced that DDG-88 would be the first vessel equipped with the HELIOS system.
The announcement on August 13 specified that “BAE Systems will furnish the facilities and personnel necessary to execute, coordinate, and integrate various aspects of ship maintenance, repair, and modernization for USS Preble,” without clarifying if this encompasses HELIOS installation work.
The Navy stated the contract was acquired through a competitive procurement process, with full and open competition featuring two competing proposals. In response to an inquiry, NAVSEA informed Defense Daily they cannot divulge additional details regarding the contract, including information about the second competitor.
Anthony Paolino, a spokesperson for General Dynamics’s National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) [GD], informed Defense Daily that they also submitted a proposal for the Preble, “but opted to withdraw it after securing another contract. It would have caused a docking conflict for us.”
The Navy did not provide any remarks on whether NASSCO’s initial proposal counts as the second bidder or if the contract announcement referenced a different contractor.
